Blocked Tear Ducts - New York,NY

My pediatrician had me massage the tear ducts everyday, 3x's a day. Its between the corner of the eye and the bridge of the nose. It helped with my son. He had blocked tear ducts too.
Good luck
C.

Hello J.!! Well my son who is 2 years now had it the procedure done twice! He was 17 mths old when he had it done the first time & it went well for like a month but then it started right back up & then we had it done again at 20 mths & they went in w/bigger brush & I havent had a problem since. The only time now it acts up is when he is sick but nothing like it used to be. You would rather get the procedure done then let it get bad to where a infection gets in there & she could lose the eyesite. He did well w/the anesthesia both times. Just make sure its first thing in the morning & have them give her a deposit or morton before she wakes up to help ease some of the discomfort. But otherwise a couple hours later (after the procedure) my son was back to his normal self! Good luck!

do it. I know it's scarey.. but my friend did nothing until her son was over 2.. and now he is 12.. and he still has a big problem with his eye.. and now it can't be fixed. I also waited on surgery for another thing with my son... until he was older.. and he remembered the surgery and brings it up all the time... also asks why I waited so long... He is right.. i should have done it sooner.. and he wouldn't remember... Good luck.. A.!!!

My oldest son had the procedure done when he was 15 months old and it went great. His doctor put a tube in so that the procedure would take, upping the success percentage. My son was getting eye infections from the blocked tear duct so we did the procedure as soon as possible. It is an easy procedure. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30am and where home before noon. I think the best thing was his doctor he was great with our son and was very reassuring for us. Just remember that this procedure will be tougher on you than your daughter, she won't even remember it.

My son had the same problem. In his first year he had a few eye infections, we did the massaging and thought it worked because the eye infections stopped. But he stillhad runny/watery eyes, which we thought was allergies. By the time we got him to see a pedi ophthamologist he was 20 mo and with the use of yellow eye drops they were able to see both eyes were still completely blocked. His first surgery was delayed due to a slight cold, they didn't want to take the chance with anesthesia. He had his surgery 1 wk prior to his 2nd bday. The only hard parts were not giving him his milk first thing when he woke up and when he came out of anesthsia he was whiny and clingy. Since my other kids had minor surgery and did well when brought home, I insisted on taking him home as soon as he was able to hold down liquids and pee. Once home he took a 2 hour nap on me and when he woke up he was his usual self. The surgery was a success. Since he was older they put tiny tubes in his eyes so he would be less likely to need another procedure. After a month they took them out, which took only seconds and was a breeze. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi J. ~
My daughter just had the proceedure done in June, one week before her 1st birthday. Everything went smoothly & the tear duct has been totally clear ever since. I would recommend the proceedure (the sooner the better) to anyone. I was obviously worried about the anesthesia too, but it's nice to know now (for future reference) that she didn't have any problems with it. Good luck! ~ E.

Hello,
My wife spends time writing on this forum, but she asked me to help with this question. I am a board certified ophthalmologist, and often see babies with blocked tear ducts. I tend to refer them to pediatric ophthalmologist to have the procedure done. It is true that the majority of blocked tear ducts will open without intervention by one year of age.
When I see these babies, I first counsel the parents on "massage" (a finger needs to be used to press downward along the floor of the eye socket by the nose[it's alot simpler than it sounds]) and sometimes we need to use short courses of topical antibiotics.
If a pediatric ophthalmologist is involved at a young enough age (less than 6 months) the procedure (called a probing) can be done in the office with the baby swaddled tightly, which reduces the chance of these babies having to go to the operating room. Not all pediatric ophthalmologist will offer this as an option [because they do not feel comfortable doing this in the office without anesthesia]. Personally I'm not sure if I would opt for this since a good portions of these babies will open on their own, plus there tends to be a good deal of screaming. Fortunately or unfortunately you are beyond this age.
As your consultant told you, the procedure is fairly minimally invasive, and has the highest success rate prior to 15 months old. Over 2 years there is a greater chance that the baby will need a second or possibly third procedure.
Generally the first procedure involves passing a blunt instrument through the tear drainage system, with physical confirmation in the nasal passage. The blockage, when present from birth is a thin membrane where the lower valve should be, and usually a slight narrowing of the passage.
The second procedure would be a repeat of the first, but followed by "angioplasty" where essentially a tiny inflatable balloon is used to stretch the duct.
The third procedure would mimic the first 2 but the surgeon would leave a small silicone tube in the duct to keep it open. I believe if the baby is over 2 years old, the 2nd and 3rd procedure would be done as one.
I hope this information has been helpful, to be honest the biggest concern of this whole process will be the anesthesia. Thankfully the risks of anesthesia are virtually the same for all patients over age 6 months. It is very likely that your pediatric ophthalmologist would be performing the procedure in an ambulatory surgery center, with a "pediatric" anesthesiologist.
Typically the mother will escort the baby to the operating room, and be present until the child receives some sedation. Usually the baby is given a "gas" to inhale through a mask. Once the child is asleep the mother leaves the room, and an airway tube and an IV are placed. The baby is then positioned and the procedure is performed.
The rough part comes in recovery, where your baby will be "groggy" and "clingy" and can be a bit difficult to comfort. Keep in mind, the medications can cause nausea and she will be extremely disoriented. The procedure she is going in for itself should not leave her with any pain or discomfort. There may be a drop or two of blood in the nose.
Hopefully this information has been helpful to you, it is normal to be anxious and nervous about your child undergoing any type of surgical procedure no matter how "minimally invasive." My son will be going in for a surgical procedure in about 1 month, and although I've performed hundreds of surgeries on adults, and was involved in nearly 100 surgical procedures on babies in medical school, it feels completely different when it is your child.
Good luck, if you are interested in a little more information, you could check out "www.aapos.org" this is the website for the American academy of pediatric ophthalmologists.

J., my second son had the same problem and I did take him to the specialist and the procedure was done. It was quick real quick and I worried about him because just months before he had the procedure done on his heart. So, what I did was prayed and put him on the prayer chain as well. He was under anesthesia, but it was quick and over and they told me what to do and what to watch for and everything is fine. It was done before 2years of age and now he's almost 3yrs old. They said that when he gets a cold, it may act up a little, but it didn't and it's great. I have ppictures that you can see some things with that one eye, but now he's great. A friend of ours, here daughter had blocked tear duct with both eyes and over time over healed and the other one healed up. So, I will be praying for you that when the procedure is called for, you will have Jesus's peace during that time and know that you will be there right after the surgery. If you have questions or anything to share or anything, e-mail me. You won't be a bothersome nor a burden.

My second daughter had this problem, but only till she was about four months old, and then it cleared up. However, a good friend of mine has a 14 months old girl who just had this exact procedure done about 2 weeks ago and it was a complete success! She was nervous about it, but her doctor told her that the longer they waited, the less successful it may be, and her baby would start to become prone to eye infections, which can be very dangerous. If your baby is over a year and it has still not cleared up, chances are that it is not going to. Listen to the specialist and get the procedure done. My friend said that she was only in the waiting room for about 20-25 minutes, and that her daughter seemed completely unaffected by the whole ordeal (except for the fact that she finally did not have goopy eyes anymore!!). Medicine has come so far nowadays - take advantage of it and get your daughter's eyes fixed!

Hi J.,
I went through this with my first baby 7 years ago. I had his tear duct opened at 6 months because his eye was constantly red and glassy and it was very stressful. I asked to go to the specialist and she told me I could either wait the year or have it done. My husband and I decided to have it done. I was nervous about the anesthia and the whole process I had myself a wreck the day of the procedure. I think the whole thing took less then a half hour we were home from the hospital within 2 hours of the surgery time and he had no ill effects from the anesthia. We had to put drops in his eye for a few days and had a recheck 1 or 2 weeks later. I was amazed at how clear his eye looked within a few days of the surgery. His eye is fine and we have not had any problems. I wish you the best of luck if you have any questions please feel free to email me.
Sherri mom of 3 1boy age 7 and 2 girls ages 5 and almost 2

Hi J. I am dealing with the same thing! My LO is only 4 months but our pediatrician wants us to see the eye doctor no later than 8 months. I have been doing the antibiotic drops and massage religiously to no avail!! I think I will call my regular I doctor and see if she has any other suggestions. I really hope your LO's eye clears before you have to do surgery. Have you been told to massage and do the drops? I really hope not to have to do surgery!! If you want to chat PM me. Sometimes it's nice to talk with someone who is going through it too. Please keep me posted!!!

D.

I'm by NO means an expert, by one of my friend's little girls had this same issue. She was in your same boat - she didn't like the idea of a needle that close to her infant's eye to clear out the duct.

One night she was playing with her baby and started massaging the infant's nose, right on the bridge. She heard a little "pop"...and the duct had cleared!

Like I said, I'm not an expert...but massaging your baby's nose couldn't hurt anything!

mom,

I would go for the surgery,

its been since BIRTH, so you have had 1 year to wait and see.

I know its scarey but its in her best intrest.
98
80
18 percent diffrence

20 percent. over all chance of FAILURE

compared to a 2 percent chance of failure.

its a no brainer to me,

your daughter needs the surgery,
the days of wait and see are over.
you have waited OVER a year.and its still there,.only minimally improved.

its time to get more agressive.and be proactive.

if she had cancer, you would not see these odds as good,
nor would you have the the wait and see mentality.

M

I had a blocked tear duct when I was an infant - they did the surgery when I was 6 mos old - that was early 1976. I have had no complications from it - but that eye has always been prone to tearing. I know that now they tend to NOT recommend surgery and just massaging the tear duct (with well washed hands). So, if they are recommending it - I think I would 1. Get a second opinion, and 2. I would probably go ahead with it.

My dgtr has a cyst removed from her right in front of her ear when she was 10 months old - considering where it was - they had to give her anesthesia (because of where it was on the body and the facial nerve that runs near there). I was against it - but the odds of success were explained much the same way as for your little one - better now - not as great later - especially for scarring (and that the cyst could have become much worse). We did it - and she was fine through the entire thing and after.

Hi J.-

My son was also born with both tear ducts 100% blocked. He did see a pediatric opthamologist at around 1 year, and he had his tear ducts surgically opened when he was almost 14 mos. old. The surgery was literally 5 minutes (although I have to say they were the longest five minutes of my life!) and the hospital staff, incuding the anesthesiologist, was wonderfully supportive. We were able to stay with him until the minute the nurse carried him into the OR (after a sedative had taken effect, so he was sleepy), and as soon as he was out the staff had me lay down with him in recovery, so when he woke up I was right there. I think we had to be at the hospital around 6:30 in the morning and we were home by 10 am. The surgery was completely successful, and there were no side effects--he was his usual happy self that day.

Good luck!
K.

All 4 of my children had blocked tear ducts. When they got really bad we used an eye ointment to prevent infection. 3 out of my four kids cleared up on their own at about 10 months. My son was 13 months when we had the surgery to open his ducts. Prior to that he always had a gross eye discharge. He came through the surgery without complications. HE is now almost 6 and has no eye issues.

J.,
All three of my kids had this. With my first, they told me to get the surgery. My girlfriend who had other kids told me to massage inside between the bridge of the nose and the eye. (by the tear duct-I am bad w/ directions) with a warm clean wash cloth. I did it for about a little over a week or maybe two on my daughter. None of them needed the surgery. Try that first. If it does not go away, then get the surgery. At least you tried something before it.
Good luck...
Kristina
BTW..your not alone. I too work fulltime and have three kids. I am very fortunate and wouldnt have it any other way.